The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 431 You Need to Pass the Ball More

On May 24, the fourth game between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers continued at Memorial Stadium.

The record for sold-out tickets at Memorial Stadium continues, and people predict that it will remain so as long as Forrest Gump is still in Portland.

Even if they were to move to a larger arena with a capacity of 2 people, the Trail Blazers would still have no problem selling tickets.

However, some commentators have pointed out that the Trail Blazers faced virtually no competition in the Oregon region, making ticket sales extremely easy.

With the team currently performing well, the management has become somewhat complacent, and the team has stagnated in terms of marketing and expanding its influence.

Fans are also increasingly dissatisfied with the limited capacity of the Memorial Stadium, which has more than 12000 seats.

A championship team in such a small stadium cannot meet the viewing needs of its fans.

More and more fans are writing to the Trail Blazers management and the mayor of Portland, hoping to build larger public sports facilities.

The Portland city government responded positively, but the Trail Blazers management remained silent, saying only, "We are focused on the playoffs, and the arena can't just spring up overnight."

This has caused dissatisfaction among some fans, but since the Trail Blazers are still in the playoffs, these voices haven't made much of a splash.

Some astute insiders realized that current owner Larry Weinberger might lack sufficient interest in continuing to run the Portland Trail Blazers long-term.

Despite the team's continued victories and thriving business, owner Larry Weinberg seemed uninterested throughout the season.

The 1986 championship gave him immense satisfaction, and by the 1987 season he rarely even appeared at games.

Sources familiar with the matter have hinted that Weinberg's passion for basketball is waning.

The Trail Blazers are now more like Forrest Gump's team; nobody cares about the owner, and Weinberg rarely appeared at Memorial Arena throughout the playoffs.

It seems that Weinberg has lost much interest in basketball after getting rid of Stu Inman last year.

Weinberg rarely gets involved in day-to-day management, leaving everything from the draft to trades to signings to the management team.

For example, Weinberg was absent from the crucial fourth game between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers, claiming that he was not feeling well and needed to rest.

A quiet change, accompanying the transformation of the NBA, is slowly taking place within the Portland Trail Blazers team.

Gan Guoyang could sense this change; there were more and more unfamiliar faces in the team, with veterans leaving and new players joining—a significant part of which was related to Stu Inman's departure.

At the request of the NBA, the team has created many new positions, especially those related to media.

Jack Ramsey often complained, "The team is getting bigger and bigger."

In the past, the Trail Blazers were a small but beautiful team, like a small startup company with few people, and everyone had multiple roles.

From management to training to competitions, it's always the same few people. We've worked together for many years and have a deep bond.

Now the team is growing bigger and bigger, and its performance is getting better and better. The small startup has become a listed company, and its management is becoming more and more rigorous.

The close bond forged in the early days of entrepreneurship, sharing both joy and hardship, gradually fades away, and eventually everyone becomes colleagues who work together, rather than comrades-in-arms in the same trench.

Stu Inman's departure accelerated this trend, but fortunately, this change did not affect the team's performance on the field.

The management knew that as long as the team focused on Agan, the record wouldn't be a problem; from Weinberg to Buckwalt, everyone was very clear-headed about this.

Gan Guoyang noticed the subtle changes within the team, so in the fourth game he asked the whole team to unite and everyone to give full play to their energy to strive for victory.

Unity and victory on the battlefield can overshadow all problems. If we can defeat the Lakers, the Trail Blazers will be the champions this year.

Before the game started, during the entrance ceremony, the fans in the arena screamed wildly, cheering for the Portland Trail Blazers, hoping that the enthusiastic atmosphere at home would help the team.

The entire Lakers team looked serious. From the moment Magic Johnson got off the team bus, entered the arena, and came out, there wasn't a single smile on his face.

They won the third match, but it was an extremely fierce battle that took a lot of energy. Fortunately, they secured the victory; otherwise, they would have been in dire straits.

They are determined to win tonight; if they win this game, the balance of the series will tip back in the Lakers' favor.

Pat Riley sat on the sidelines chewing gum. Since Gan Guoyang and Jordan started chewing gum, more and more people in the league are chewing gum to relax.

Before the match, Gan Guoyang also took out a piece of chewing gum and put it in his mouth. There was no emotional fluctuation on his face, which made his opponents always unable to figure him out.

Before the jump ball, Gan Guoyang said to the Lakers players, "I'm going to destroy you guys tonight, just like the previous two games."

After Gan Guoyang finished speaking, the Lakers players all looked serious; this guy's words were never a good thing.

In the third game, the Lakers slightly limited Gan Guoyang's performance, firstly by not making any mistakes on the defensive end.

Secondly, Riley changed his strategy, using offense as defense, and launched repeated attacks on Gan Guoyang.

Previously in "The Forrest Gump Principle," Riley advised everyone to avoid confronting Forrest Gump directly during an attack.

But the situation has changed. If you don't put pressure on him on the defensive end, he will overwhelm you on the offensive end.

In the semifinals, no one on the SuperSonics could get past Gan Guoyang, and they gave him a lot of blocks.

The Lakers were different; they had the best offensive resources in the league, and under Johnson's leadership, they finally managed to bring down Gan Guoyang, who had six fouls.

The entire league knows that Gan Guoyang is a man of his word; if he says he'll beat you up, he'll beat you up. He's not joking.

Johnson, as the leader, chimed in, "You try it, Sonny, and see who blows whom out."

Since the Trail Blazers rose to prominence, Johnson's relationship with Gan Guoyang has become increasingly distant, while his relationship with Drexler has grown stronger.

Before Gan Guoyang could speak, Drexler walked over and shoved Johnson, saying, "Shut up, Magic, you're all dead tonight."

Johnson glared at Drexler, surprised by the kid's arrogance tonight, and said, "You said that?" "Yes, I said that."

The tension was palpable even before the game started, and the referee came over to calm them down because it was time for a jump ball.

The referee tonight is Earl Stroom, Gan Guoyang's favorite referee, which makes Gan Guoyang feel relaxed.

The jump ball begins, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar touches the ball first, passing it to Byron Scott.

The Lakers gave the first basket to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to isolate Gan Guoyang, continuing their strategy from the previous game to wear Gan Guoyang down on offense.

But Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's turnaround hook shot missed, and Thompson grabbed the rebound, allowing the Trail Blazers to launch their first fast break.

Porter's pass to Gan Guoyang was intercepted by AC Green and went out of bounds, giving the Trail Blazers possession.

Gan Guoyang throws the ball out of bounds to Mitchell Thompson, who then passes it to Drexler.

Drexler received the ball and immediately broke through the middle, but his left-handed layup attempt under the basket missed.

Johnson grabbed the rebound and launched a fast break, with AC Green once again leading the charge, receiving the ball and scoring a layup while drawing a blocking foul from Porter!

Porter was frustrated and argued with the referee, but the referee ignored him, and AC Green was awarded a penalty.

Green has had a stellar season, displaying incredible energy on the court and providing energization for the Lakers on both ends of the court.

Moreover, as a power forward, he can also participate in fast breaks and counterattacks, making him a very versatile forward.

Compared to Green, Mitchell Thompson and Vandeweghe are both slow and old.

Only Jerome Kossie on the bench can match up against A.C. Green.

The free throw was missed, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound.

During a positional attack, Gan Guoyang called for the ball in the low post and faked out Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with a face-up move.

He drove hard to the basket, drawing a foul from AC Green and going to the free-throw line.

Gan Guoyang made both free throws, and both sides quickly scored points at the start of the game.

The first quarter saw extremely intense physical confrontations between the two sides in both offense and defense.

The Lakers wanted to find a low-post attack opportunity in half-court offense, but the ball circled around the perimeter several times, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Green, and Worthy were all unable to get into position.

The Trail Blazers started applying physicality to the Lakers early on, using a lot of fronting and shoving to prevent them from receiving the ball easily.

Johnson had no choice but to take a tough shot from the outside, which missed, and Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound again.

The Lakers' defense was equally intense, with a dense defensive line centered around Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, leaving the wings open for the Trail Blazers.

Vandeweghe missed a shot from the baseline, and the Trail Blazers' shooting touch wasn't great at the start of the game.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also missed a fadeaway layup attempt against Gan Guoyang after a turnaround.

During the counterattack, Gan Guoyang got a mismatch opportunity to attack AC Green. He received the ball, turned and cut to the basket, and scored with a left-handed layup.

At the start, Gan Guoyang once again demonstrated his strong offensive power. Once he got the ball to the basket, the Lakers had no way to stop him.

From the Lakers' perspective, tonight will be another all-out battle against Forrest Gump.

But they didn't expect that this was just Gan Guoyang's disguise, creating opportunities for his teammates to perform.

However, whether the teammates can perform well and whether they are in good form depends on the progress of the game.

Otherwise, if he creates opportunities for his teammates but they miss, he'll end up having to take the shot himself.

The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, but the Trail Blazers' key players seemed to be in mediocre form tonight.

Drexler, Vandeweghe, and Porter missed several shots from the perimeter.

The Lakers' offense was also struggling; Johnson was having trouble shooting from beyond the arc, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar repeatedly missed one-on-one shots.

The double overtime battle in the third game took a toll on the players' physical strength. With only one day between the third and fourth games, it was expected that the key players would be in poor form.

The physical confrontations on both sides were extremely intense, reaching a peak in the series. There were constant battles and conflicts under the basket, making it really difficult to drive into the basket and score.

James Worthy elbowed Drexler in the nose during a defensive play, resulting in a foul and a nosebleed for Drexler as he went to the free-throw line.

Instead of calling the team doctor, he wiped the blood from his nose, made the free throw, and continued playing.

The referee stopped the game and called the team doctor to help treat the nosebleed when it became uncontrollable.

In retaliation, Gan Guoyang and Drexler set a pick-and-roll in the next possession. Gan Guoyang cut inside to receive the ball and drove to the basket. Just when everyone thought Gan Guoyang was going to dunk, he attracted a double team and passed the ball to Drexler. Drexler then took the alley-oop and dunked the ball over Worthy!

After scoring, the two players gave each other a light high-five. Gan Guoyang asked, "Have you found your rhythm, Clyde?"

Drexler said, "I don't know, it feels a bit lacking."

"Keep it up, you good-for-nothing."

"You need to pass the ball more!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)